Time to start meeting the team…
Looking after children around the time of their operation involves a team. One goal of this whole challenge is to share with everyone the type of work we do. The more important goal is to introduce the people who make it happen.
It’s the people doing the work who make great care happen.
So maybe the first members of the team to meet are the anaesthetics and recovery nurses.
Where do you even start to explain what the nursing team are all about?
Actually, we know where to start. Maybe we should just ask Kat to talk …
Of course that brief description cannot capture all the ways that the anaesthetics and recovery nurses play their part in looking after children. The nurses are there for those moments in the lead up to starting the anaesthetic when the team is doing everything to make the whole process feel as OK as possible. On a good day that means maybe even making the whole experience kind of fun.
They also do a huge amount of work in making things happen when it comes to the anaesthetic as they gather the equipment vital to anaesthetic care and assist through the critical phases of anaesthesia.
They’re there as the anaesthetic comes to an end. And it is the same nursing team who are there in recovery as patients are emerging from their anaesthetic before heading off to the ward.
They are sort of everywhere providing direct care to our young patients and the whole family on days that can be pretty intense. It’s not easy coming for surgery.
Which is why we’re so lucky to have such highly skilled and caring anaesthetics and recovery nurses working away on those 20,000 hours every year .